A bachelor’s in film is offered under several titles – BA in Film and Media Studies, BA or BFA in Film and Television Production, BS in Digital Cinema, BA in Media Arts – and the titles do not reliably tell you which kind of program you are looking at. In IPEDS 2024, 321 institutions reported bachelor’s-or-higher completions in these fields, and 258 of them reported offering distance-education programs (IPEDS 2024), so there is real choice online. The choice that matters is studies or production, and after that, how the program handles equipment and critique.
This page explains the degree titles, what each track actually requires, what an online production course expects you to own, and how to compare programs without relying on the marketing.
Quick answers
Can I get a bachelor’s degree in film online?
Yes. Both film and media studies degrees and film and video production degrees are offered online, and 258 of the 321 institutions reporting completions in these fields also reported distance-education offerings (IPEDS 2024). Studies degrees adapt to online delivery almost completely. Production degrees adapt partially: the instruction, the critique, and the post-production work move online cleanly, while the shooting happens wherever you are, with gear you supply or borrow.
What is the difference between a BA and a BFA in film?
A BFA puts more credits into studio production and fewer into general education and electives, and usually ends in a substantial thesis film or reel. A BA keeps a broader arts-and-sciences frame and often blends studies and production. Neither is worth more to an employer. The BFA gives you more supervised production time; the BA leaves more room for a second field, which matters if you want a fallback or a specialty like communications or graphic design.
Do I need my own camera and editing computer?
For a production degree, almost certainly. Programs differ on how much they lend or ship, and some include software licenses in fees. Before you enroll, get a written list: camera body and lens, audio recorder and microphone, a light kit, tripod, storage drives, and a computer that can edit the codec the course uses. This is the biggest cost difference between two otherwise similar online film programs.
How many credits is a bachelor’s in film?
Roughly 120 semester hours, typically four years full-time. Production sequences are usually gated: an introductory production course before intermediate, intermediate before the thesis project, and some courses only run in specific terms. Ask for the four-year rotation, not just the catalog list.
Do admissions require a portfolio?
Sometimes. Studies degrees rarely ask for one. BFA production tracks and competitive programs often ask for a short reel, a scene, a photo portfolio, or a personal statement about what you want to make. Some programs admit you to the university first and to the major later, after a portfolio review in the sophomore year. Ask which model the school uses.
Will the degree get me hired?
Not by itself. Producers, directors, editors, and camera operators are unlicensed, and hiring runs on the reel and on credits. What the degree gives you is four years of deadlines, critique, collaborators, and a finished body of work, plus the bachelor’s credential that non-film employers ask for. Treat every project as portfolio material from the first semester.
At a Glance
- Common degree titles: BA in Film and Media Studies, BA or BFA in Film and Television Production, BS in Digital Cinema, BA in Media Arts
- Typical duration: 4 years full-time
- Credits: Approximately 120 semester hours
- Core skills: Shot design, lighting, production sound, editing and post workflow, screenwriting, producing, film analysis
- Accreditation: No film-specific programmatic accreditor; verify institutional accreditation
For a full map of this program area, start here: Film Program Guide
Schools to compare
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
- Graduation rate 30%
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
- Average net price (lower is better) 20%
- Retention rate 15%
- Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Graduation rate
97%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$124,080
Avg net price
$13,807/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 98%
- Programs offered: 100
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
11%
Graduation rate
93%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$92,446
Avg net price
$13,481/yr
TuitionIn‑state$16,347
Out‑of‑state$50,547
Key stats
- Retention rate: 97%
- Programs offered: 127
Source:Accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
9%
Graduation rate
93%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$82,511
Avg net price
$12,548/yr
TuitionIn‑state$15,203
Out‑of‑state$49,403
Key stats
- Retention rate: 97%
- Programs offered: 161
Source:Accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
33%
Graduation rate
84%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$74,915
Avg net price
$16,109/yr
TuitionIn‑state$16,414
Out‑of‑state$50,614
Key stats
- Retention rate: 92%
- Programs offered: 81
Source:Accreditor: Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
85%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$75,790
Avg net price
$15,564/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 90%
- Programs offered: 193
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
98%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$100,533
Avg net price
$23,777/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 99%
- Programs offered: 118
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
93%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$77,644
Avg net price
$23,367/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 97%
- Programs offered: 40
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
92%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$84,803
Avg net price
$25,496/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 96%
- Programs offered: 51
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
The main undergraduate pathways
Film and video production (BA or BFA)
The making degree. Coursework moves from an introductory production course through cinematography, editing, sound, and directing into a thesis project. The workload is uneven by design: light reading weeks, then a shoot weekend that eats everything. Online, the shooting is on you. Good online production programs handle this by scoping assignments to what one person with a small kit and two friends can actually accomplish, then critiquing the footage in detail. Weak ones assign campus-scale projects and grade you on what you could not produce.
The analytical degree. Film history, national cinemas, genre and authorship, documentary, media industries, and criticism, taught through screenings, reading, and writing. This translates to online delivery about as well as any humanities major does. It is a strong preparation for graduate study, criticism, programming, archives, and media-adjacent work, and it pairs naturally with communications or journalism. It will not teach you to light a scene.
Many schools house film production as a concentration in a communications, media arts, or digital media major. That is a reasonable structure if you want production skill plus a wider professional base. The tradeoff is fewer production credits, which means a thinner reel at graduation unless you shoot beyond the assignments. Compare the number of required hands-on production courses, not the concentration name.
Typical coursework in a bachelor’s program
| Course Topic |
What You Learn |
| Introduction to Production |
Camera operation, exposure, basic lighting, sound recording, and finishing a short piece on a deadline |
| Cinematography and Lighting |
Lens choice, exposure control, lighting ratios, and how a look is built rather than found |
| Production Sound |
Microphone selection and placement, levels, room tone, and why bad audio kills a good picture |
| Editing and Post Workflow |
Assembly, pacing, continuity, media management, proxies, and delivering a finished file |
| Screenwriting |
Structure, scene, dialogue, formatting, and writing for what can actually be shot |
| Producing and Production Management |
Budgets, schedules, locations, releases, permits, and crew logistics |
| Film History and Analysis |
How films are built and how movements, genres, and industries shaped them |
| Documentary |
Research, access, interview technique, and the ethics of filming real people |
| Sound Design and Mix |
Dialogue editing, effects, music, and the mix that makes a project feel professional |
| Thesis Project or Reel |
A film, documentary, or portfolio piece delivered at a standard you can show an employer |
Skills you may build
- Finishing a project, which in this field is the rarest skill of all
- Reading a scene technically: what the lens, the light, and the cut are doing
- Recording usable audio in uncontrolled locations
- Editing to a story rather than to your favorite footage
- Managing media, backups, and a post workflow that does not lose work
- Scheduling and budgeting a shoot, then running it with other people
- Taking critique on work you care about and cutting it anyway
Prerequisites and course sequencing
Production coursework is sequenced tightly, and online rotations can be thinner than campus ones. Before you enroll, confirm:
- Which introductory course gates the rest of the production sequence
- How often each upper-division production course runs online, and in which terms
- Whether a portfolio review controls entry to the major or to the thesis
- Whether the thesis project has prerequisites you can complete on your timeline
- Whether any residency, on-campus intensive, or in-person shoot week is required
- Whether the program requires a specific editing application, and who pays for the license
If you are moving faster than a standard four-year plan, compare accelerated online film degrees. Compression is harder on production courses than on lecture courses, because a shoot needs scheduling, weather, locations, and other people’s calendars.
Transfer credits and degree planning
Transfer credit can shorten a bachelor’s substantially, especially for general education. Confirm:
- The maximum number of transfer credits accepted
- The minimum grade required for a course to transfer
- Whether credits apply to the major core or only to general electives – general education and film history often transfer, hands-on production courses frequently do not
- Whether an associate degree in film, television, or digital media transfers as a block
- Residency requirements, meaning a minimum number of credits completed at the institution
See Affordable Online Film Degrees for more on managing the total cost to finish, including the gear line that other majors do not have.
Accreditation and program quality checks
There is no film-specific programmatic accreditor. Some film and media arts programs housed in art and design schools carry accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, and some in theatre schools sit under theatre accreditation, but neither is standard across the field and neither is required for employment. Verify that the institution holds accreditation from a recognized institutional accreditor through the U.S. Department of Education database.
Festival wins, alumni credits, and equipment lists in a brochure are marketing, not accreditation. Institutional accreditation is the check that matters. The program quality signal you can actually verify is the student work: ask to watch recent thesis films from the online cohort, not the flagship campus.
Building the reel while you study
Because hiring runs on the reel, the four years are portfolio time whether the syllabus says so or not.
- Keep a clean export of every finished piece, plus the project files and source media, from the first semester
- Cut a one-to-two minute reel by your sophomore year and re-cut it every year rather than assembling one in a panic before graduation
- Specialize visibly. A reel that shows you are a strong editor beats a reel that shows you are adequate at six jobs
- Crew on other people’s projects, including local and unpaid ones, to build credits and references you can name
- Keep signed releases and location permissions for anything you might publish later
Bachelor’s vs a master’s in film
A bachelor’s is the standard entry credential and is enough for nearly every job in this field. An online master’s in film is worth considering for a career change into the industry, for a concentrated production or cinematography credential, or for teaching at the college level. It is not a promotion mechanism inside production work, where credits and reel do that job.
Compare degree options:
Data verified: September 5, 2026.
Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
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